Searching for Stars
by Wildcard
Summary: Kaiba finds Malik in his bed and jumps to conclusions. What, like you wouldn't? Malik has returned to Domino seeking help from Kaiba, who is surprised to say the least at what Malik wants...shounen-ai, KaibaMalik sorta other pairings to come


The Forgotten Ones

Malik licked his lips, and shifted uneasily. Despite all the lessons that Bakura had given him earlier, he still wasn't confidant that he could disarm the burglar alarm without setting it off. He would have preferred if the tomb robber had come along, since Bakura was the one with the unexpected gift for electronics, but Malik didn't think that Bakura would entirely approve of what Malik was planning. Even if Bakura did, Ryou wouldn't, and that would be enough to stop Bakura from assisting Malik. Therefore, Malik went on his own, dressed in black, at 1 AM to break into Seto Kaiba's mansion.   
  
Not an easy task as he had found. In retrospect, it seemed obvious to Malik that trying to break into the house of a computer genius might not be quite as simple as unlocking Ryou's diary - which he had ended up shredding in his frustration at not being able to open it anyway. Malik sighed, and poking a screwdriver into his mouth so as not to lose it, he pulled a wire-cutter out of his pockets and started carefully cutting away at the tangled mess in front of him.   
  
~*~   
  
Kaiba hit a few more keys, then sat back to inspect his work. Nothing as entertaining as Duel Monsters unfortunately, just the same homework that everyone else in his class had been assigned. It wasn't that Kaiba found the work difficult, it's just that he had so many other things to do that he always put schoolwork off until last. Now however, his work for the night was finished and he could finally go sleep. He briefly debated just sleeping in his chair, since he was already in nightwear, but decided that his bed would be more comfortable.  
  
Trudging the long trek to his bedroom, his mind dwelt lovingly on his bed, his lovely air-filled mattress, his sheets of Egyptian cotton that were lavender scented... To him, it seemed like that bed in itself was worth everything he had gone through. That bed would be his Eden.   
  
Which is why, when he opened his door and realized that there was already a body in it which was too tall to be Mokuba, Kaiba flipped.   
  
The light switch that is, Kaiba would never resort to violence to make a point. Unless you pulled Mokuba's hair of course which would result in pain being dealt out indiscriminately. Besides, Kaiba reasoned, the additional light would make it easier for him to identify the intruder. Unfortunately for Kaiba, that didn't help much as the person was hidden under the sheets. The thought briefly crossed Kaiba's mind that perhaps someone had dumped a corpse there, but then he dismissed it as absurd. Equally absurd was the thought which followed afterwards: someone had cracked his security system.  
  
Absurd, but true, as evidenced by the presence of a person in HIS bed. Seething, Kaiba strode forward and decisively yanked the sheets off the bed, to reveal a disarrayed Malik Ishtar. Kaiba sat down on the bed heavily, caught off balance by this new development. While Kaiba didn't know quite whom he had been expecting, it most certainly wasn't Malik, who had supposedly left to 'do some thinking'.  
  
Ryou had even been talking about some letter that he had received from Malik the other day - so what was Malik doing back? Or more importantly, what was Malik doing in Kaiba's bed? Kaiba gritted his teeth and seeing that Malik didn't seem to be waking up, took a certain savage satisfaction in whacking him with a pillow. Hard.   
  
The next thing he knew, there was a screwdriver pressing against his throat, and two lavender eyes, still sleep-blurred, in front of his own. Kaiba made a gurgling noise, then pushed Malik backwards so that he fell onto the bed and dropped the implement. It made no noise as it fell onto the carpet and rolled under the bed. Malik, however, did, a cross being a groan and a whimper escaping him as he almost fell off the bed.  
  
"Malik." Kaiba said, then nodded at him gracefully, trying to keep his composure but not certain what to say. Too tired to be evasive, he went for the blunt approach.   
  
"Why are you in my bed?" Kaiba asked in as bored a tone as he could muster. Too late, he realized that he was too sleepy to hold back a yawn, which interfered with the dignity of his question. Trying to make up for lost ground, he added: "And how did you get in here?"   
  
Malik sat Indian-style on the end of the bed farthest from Kaiba - which wasn't all that far - and smiled nervously. Kaiba was too busy trying to stifle another yawn to pay much attention to the way that Malik's slim fingers plucked at the bedspread, or the way he kept brushing his bangs away from his face.   
  
"I became sleepy while waiting for you, so I thought that I might as well have a nap until you came. You really should go to bed sooner Kaiba." Malik said, glancing at the clock which showed the time was now 3:24. Malik realized that he had yet to answer the second question, so continued quickly: "Bakura taught me how to pick all kinds of locks, even electronic locks. I suppose he learnt those skills while Ryou was at school - after all, he must have something to do."   
  
Malik shrugged casually, pleased that his voice was so steady. Kaiba dredged up a glare from somewhere, but even he knew it wasn't up to his usual standards. Tired as he was, he was considering just sending Malik away, but his curiosity, which he rarely indulged, would not be denied this time.   
  
"Bakura's methods of entertaining himself are not my concern. You, and your decision to use my bedroom as a visiting parlor are. So, what is your reason for deciding to wait for me here?" Kaiba said coldly, fatigue taking the bite from the words.   
  
"I have," and here Malik paused to ensure that Kaiba was indeed listening, "A business proposition for you." Malik smirked, pleased at how well it had come out. Kaiba only just managed to stop himself from using profanity, opting instead to raise his left eyebrow.  
  
"I don't approve of prostitution." He stated coolly, then gave Malik an appraising look as if judging how much he'd be worth. Malik's eyes widened and the frantic words that were trying to escape tangled in his throat, forcing him to be silent.   
  
"Nor do I understand why you would climb into my bed and think that I'd welcome it. Surely there are less principled people whom you could exploit." Kaiba added, watching Malik to see how he reacted to such a direct rejection. Kaiba allowed his right eyebrow to join his left, aware that the two of them missed each other if separated for too long.  
  
"Besides, what made you think that I'm interested in my own sex?" Kaiba said, unable to stop a note of indignation from creeping into his voice. Malik desperately wanted to make a retort along the lines of "Why should you be interested in anybody else's sex?" but had to settle for coughing violently. Having subdued his voice, he straightened up.   
  
"That is not what I was referring to, and may I say that it's highly suspicious that as soon as I mention that word 'business' you assume that I'm talking about the flesh-trade. One might wonder if you really amassed your fortune through legitimate means." Malik said in as icy a tone as he could muster. Kaiba sighed.   
  
"Malik, you were sitting on my bed, in the middle of the night, and smirking at me. What was I supposed to think, that you wanted help in catching the Tooth Fairy?" Kaiba said, his level tone only slightly marred by the sarcasm. Malik snorted.   
  
"You could at least have waited to hear me out without jumping to conclusions like that. Do I look like a prostitute?" Malik asked rhetorically. Kaiba took advantage of that to look the exotic beauty up and down. Malik smirked again, ready to get a little of his own back.  
  
"Like what you see?" He asked, expecting Kaiba to blush at the very least. Instead, he merely lifted his head a little higher and smiled patronizingly.   
  
"Not really. You ought to eat more." Kaiba said calmly. Malik flushed red at this blatant hypocrisy.  
  
"At least I don't look like a pencil." He shot back. The corner of Kaiba's mouth quirked.  
  
"A pencil?"   
  
"A pencil."   
  
"Well, I suppose a prostitute wouldn't be very successful if they dressed up as a pencil." Kaiba smirked, causing Malik to make an angry growling noise. Still not clear as to why Malik had decided to drop in – into his bed at that - Kaiba wiped the amusement off his face, and looked as serious as anyone in striped pajamas could.  
  
"Fascinating as I find it to sit here and trade insults with you in the middle of the night, I doubt that was your reason for coming here. Either tell me what kind of proposition you have, or leave so that I may rest." Kaiba curtly said.   
  
"It's quite simple Kaiba. I need a hologram made, and since you possess such technological savvy - as well as the equipment needed - I thought that you would be the perfect person to approach."   
  
"What could _you_ possibly need a hologram of?" Kaiba asked, incredulity evident in the way he stressed the 'you'.   
  
"I would have thought that it would be obvious, Kaiba. I need a hologram of my dark - my yami." Malik smiled at Kaiba, a glittering, dangerous smile, and for a moment his old insanity seemed to have returned.

Author's Notes: I read somewhere that Marik would be banished after Battle Island, and that Malik would leave to 'find himself'. Not too long afterwards, I started wondering what would happen if Malik wanted his yami back for some twisted reason of his own and Kaiba popped into my mind. Definitely a change from Ryou/Kaiba I suppose…Review if you like it, offer me constructive criticism if you don't.  


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